Bio Matcha 30g by Greuther Teeladen
This is one that was gifted to me by a friend! Thank you.
General Info
This one is by Greuther Teeladen, a German tea shop. They don't have much of a description of it, aside from saying that it is both suitable for cooking, baking and drinking - they even specifically single out its use for mixing... into... yoghurt. I have never seen that use case anywhere, but if you like that, more power to you. It costs 12,95 Euro, so it is starting to be a commitment to purchase at that price point and you wanna make sure you'll like what you get. To compare: My favorite cheap1 basic to recommend (ChaDo Garucha Matcha 30g, also on this blog) costs 11,50 Euro.
Color and Smell
The color is very washed out, faded, and kind of ugly - sadly, it doesn't get much better when used in the beverage. This is not a powder delivering any sort of vibrant, nice, healthy green. It looks older.
I do want to point out though that the amount is generous. I really don't know if it's only 30g as the packaging says, because it looks like so much more inside, while still being the same kind of tin they all have. The tin is really full, as you can see on the image.
The smell is very bitter, ashy, grass-y. It kind of burns in your nose with how bitter it is, almost like a burnt smell. I miss notes of how green tea usually smells like, a bit of sweetness, maybe a bit of pine. But nothing.
Taste
The taste is really, really bitter, a little bit musty, and I also find it rough on the tongue. There's really not much to say; I tried it a couple times, but nothing changed, I noted nothing. I tried it iced, too, but then it basically disappears and isn't notable either. By varying the powder, all you do is lower or increase the intense bitterness. Nothing else sticks out.
Conclusion
I think it is really bad in beverages; drinkable, not icky, but bad. At least they are upfront with the cooking/baking use, don't pretend it's premium/"ceremonial" matcha, and the tin is generously filled. If you are searching for 30g to just toss into some muffins or cookies, you could use this, though honestly, you can have more vibrant, better tasting matcha for less. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Even the <10 Euro REWE Matcha I recently reviewed has a nicer taste and color while also offering 30g.
๐ต 1 out of 5 matcha bowls.
Well, in the grand scheme of things, not cheap, but in case of good matcha, it is.↩